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The Ant Hill Mob
The Ant Hill Mob are characters in Wacky Races and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop. Description The Ant Hill Mob are seven gangsters who drive the number seven car, The Bulletproof Bomb. They are styled after stereotypical 1900s early American gangsters with their car to match. Their wardrobes are in a 1920-30s fedoras and suits. Clyde's name probably came from car gangster Clyde Barrow while his looks, voice and mannerisms suggest numerous gangster roles played by Edward G. Robinson. This is further reinforced in a dialog where he threatens the boys with, "Youse want I should tell Bonnie on you?"Free Wheeling to Wheeling an apparent reference to Barrow's accomplice Bonnie Parker. When broadcast in French, his name was changed to "Al Carbone," a play on Al Capone. Ring-a-Ding usually queries Clyde's orders or is the one who causes the plan to go wrong in some way. Clyde also mispronounces his name saying "Ding-a-Ling" instead of "Ring-a-Ding." Although he is sometimes rude to the rest of the gang, Clyde actually cares for them. In one episode, when the rest of the gang was stuck in the Creepy Coupe, Clyde was menacing the Gruesomes: "Alright, you Creeps, where are my boys?" The gang are pint-sized characters, a reference to the Seven Dwarfs; in one episode, they even disguise themselves as the Seven Dwarfs to escape from a policeman. Their usual method of improving the speed of their car was "getaway" power, which was achieved by extending their feet through the floor of the car and running, the same way Fred Flintstone accelerated his own prehistoric car. A running gag with the Ant Hill Mob is that they somewhat frequently encounter authorities during a race, and evade such authorities via cosplay, with other characters (typically Dick Dastardly) also joining in. The mob's cosplays include the Seven Dwarfs, a group of wood scouts, a baseball team, and a team of trapeze artists known as "The 7 Flying Credenzas". The Ant Hill Mob re-appeared in the spin-off series The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, with Clyde in a silver outfit and his wingmen, with new names, wearing blue outfits and riding in a new living car, Chugga-Boom. The Mob were the protagonists in this series, along with Penelope herself, and were constantly rushing to her rescue. The Ant Hill Mob's personalities, in contrast to their gangster appearance, are surprisingly nice, hence how they rescue a Boy Scout in the episode "Scout Scatter". They eventually become Penelope's guardians in the spin-off series for unknown reasons, they are always devoted and rushing to her safety, even at their own expense. Names Wacky Races #Clyde - Leader and most spoken member of the group. Wears a tall black/red fedora and grey/red suit. #Ring-a-Ding/Ding-a-Ling - The secondary most spoken member. Wears a floppy red hat and green/crimson suit. #Kurby - Wears a dark yellow fedora and orange/yellow suit. #Mac - Wears a tall brown fedora and yellow/brown suit. #Danny - Wears a tall green fedora and blue/white suit. #Willy - Wears a grey fedora and cream/dark red suit. #Rug-Bug Benny - White fedora and lime suit, often behind the wheel. The Perils of Penelope Pitstop #Clyde - Remains unchanged except for his new tall hard hat and grey/white suit. His quick, witty decisions are often foiled by Dum Dum's stupidity or even by the Hooded Claw, much to Clyde's frustration. #Dum Dum (formerly Ring-a-Ding/Ding-a-Ling) - Remains unchanged except his name and wardrobe. Hence his name, he is a scatterbrained numskull who is often the culprit behind the mob's mishaps. #Zippy (formerly Willy) - A speedster who always zooms into and out of situations, sometimes without thinking. The name is a pun on imitation of fast sound describing the noise it makes. #Pockets (formerly Mac) - Carried an amazing number of useful items and tools inside his suit pockets, even ones of ridiculous size. #Snoozey (formerly Rug-Bug Benny)- Hence his name, he is always asleep and half asleep, even at the wheel. Often, when the gang run to save Penelope, he clings onto one of the mob by his mouth, like a dog. #Softey (formerly Kurby) - Hence his name, a crybaby who always expresses tears at sad or happy events. His name comes from the term of gentle, sweet, even easily upset soul. #Yak Yak (formerly Danny) - With a distinctive "yuk yuk" style giggle, he is always constantly laughing at whatever the situation, at whomever's expense. Voice Cast Clyde: * Paul Winchell - Wacky Races, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop * Jim Cummings - Wacky Races (video game) Danny, Kurby, Mac, Ring-a-Ding (all in the same voice): * Don Messick - Wacky Races, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop Softey: * Paul Winchell - The Perils of Penelope Pitstop Yak Yak: * Mel Blanc - The Perils of Penelope Pitstop Trivia * In many episodes there is a goof in which some of mob members suit colors switch, it mainly happens with Danny, Clyde and Mac. * Willy's hair colour alternates between black and red in several episodes and in promotional artwork and merchandise. * In the actual show, Ring-A-Ding usually sits beside Clyde and Willy sits behind them. In promotional artwork and merchandise, it is the other way round. Gallery wr scout 5.jpg|"Scout Scatter" wr ant 9 scout.jpg|"Scout Scatter" wr scout 13.jpg|"Scout Scatter" wr scout 14.jpg|"Scout Scatter" wr free 16.jpg|"Free Wheeling to Wheeling" wr zippy 7.jpg|"The Zippy Mississippi Race" wr hot 13.jpg|"Hot Race at Chillicothe" wr hot 17.jpg|"Hot Race at Chillicothe" wr rhode 3.jpg|"Rhode Island Road Race" wr rhode 4.jpg|"Rhode Island Road Race" wr rhode 5.jpg|"Rhode Island Road Race" wr rhode 6.jpg|"Rhode Island Road Race" Ant_Hill_Mob.jpg Bullet-ProofBomb.gif References Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Original series Category:The Perils of Penelope Pitstop Category:The Wackyverse